First Man and First Woman

In the mythology of the Navajo of North America, First Man and First
Woman, known as Altsé hastiin and Altsé
asdzáá, respectively, were beings who prepared the world for
the creation of people. Created when the winds blew life into two special
ears of corn, the couple led the creatures that would become the Navajo on
a journey from a series of lower worlds up to the surface of the earth. In
some stories, First Man and First Woman are joined by two other original
leaders: First Boy and First Girl.

In each of the lower worlds, the followers of First Man and First Woman
discovered different resources. The couple taught their followers how to
survive in the unfamiliar surroundings and urged them to learn new skills,
such as planting beans and corn for food. The two helped their people
overcome various crises, including a great flood that surged over the land
in powerful waves. They also had to deal with the troublesome Coyote, who
quarreled and played many tricks on the people.

In one of the lower worlds, First Man and First Woman had a bitter dispute
about whether men and women need each other to live. As a result of their
dispute, First Man led all of the men away from the women for four years.
Following this period of separation, some of the young women gave birth to
terrible monsters that preyed on the people. Eventually, the men and women
realized that they needed each other, and they agreed to live together
again.

*
See
Names and Places
at the end of this volume for further information.

First Man and First Woman also raised the Navajo
deity
Changing Woman (Asdzáá nádleehé), whom they
found as a child. They gave Changing Woman the medicine bundle of
creation, a bag or collection of sacred objects that became the source of
her power. Changing Woman and her sister, White Shell Woman (Yolgai
asdzáá), gave birth to twins who became warriors and killed
the monsters that threatened their people.